tank less water heaters

anyone familiar with those in-line water heaters?

I'm considering them as we plan to do a pretty big remodel here in the next few months. What are the price ranges/brands for them? it's my understanding that they are pricey, but worth their weight in gold because of their longevity (no tank to rust out) and because of their energy savings (not constantly trying to keep a tank full of water warm).

any input?

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tank less water heaters

we are building now, and i checked into these on demand systems. they do cost a lot more in the beginning. i think thats the reason why most go with general water heaters. we also decided to stick with a good water heater instead of tank less ones. if you can afford it i say certainly go for it. my understanding is that many install one system in the basement for the first floor and a second smaller unit upstairs under the bathroom sink cabinet. as far as brands, we never checked specific brands. i was told any sold at reputable stores would work fine.

tank less water heaters

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would pay for itself 2 fold... lower energy bills, and not having to replace a tank or two...

There are bad points as well, so don't be blinded by all the good . With water passing straight through, the calcium that normally settles in the tank (that you don't have :D ) will go into your water lines, faucets, drains, etc. Replacing these more often could offset any savings earned by not heating and re-heating water.

An alternative to tankless, that would lead, at least in the same direction of the goal of saving energy, is a water heater timer. It turns on the WH in the mornings, when everyone is likely to be showering, etc. , then off during the day (while at work/school), maybe on for a short time in the evening to wash dishes, and off again until the next morning. (That is just one way to set it up, obviously, it can be set however you wanted to set it. I think it can be set by temperature AND by time, but I assume it depends on the model and how much you want to spend.)

tank less water heaters

I've heard that leaving your house temp at a constant temp (say 67degrees) is better than going cold at night, or during the day, then warming back up again later, due to extra energy used to heat it up that much. would the same rule not apply to water heaters? or is the rule really not true in the first place...?...

tank less water heaters

Water heaters are a lot better insulated than your house. It wouldn't lose THAT much temperature (although probably enough that it would cycle a time or two during the night), but not enough to cost a great deal to get back up to temperature.

tank less water heaters

this here actually concerns me more anyways:

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With water passing straight through, the calcium that normally settles in the tank (that you don't have :D ) will go into your water lines, faucets, drains, etc. Replacing these more often could offset any savings earned by not heating and re-heating water.

so i think i'll research that further before deciding. thanks for the replies though-

tank less water heaters

I see this controversy from both sides and I'm all for conservation. I like knowing that if all else goes wrong that I still have 80 gal. of hot water in temp. reserve. I know that a water heater will last 20 yrs. or more, the newbies I'm not sure about. All the stuff about Europe doesn't apply here. I'm staying with the tank system.

tank less water heaters

i checked and according to tankless literature, you will save 35% on billing from a conventional water heater. however, the water heater upfront cost was 1/3 of a tankless system (if you only need one tankless system). my question is if the tankless is so great, why are people not considering them at a higher rate. they dont seem very popular. many people i see are going with outdoor wood burners that cost 5-$6,000.

tank less water heaters

Price 1200 dollars for a good one. This will give you 120 degree water out of faucet. Most have a self diagnostics computer in them for trouble shoooting well at least the good ones do. The best way to go for hot water is this. A hotwater boiler that makes hotwater for heat and domestic use. But you have to have hot water for that. This is what i going to buy when i need to replace my hotwater boiler someday. My plumber says they are AWESOME. He said unlimited hotwater and he is my Furnace man.

tank less water heaters

747, I hope that you are not planning on installing one of those new 4-6 head shower systems, even a big one won't keep up. In this house it is not uncommon to run the dishwasher, clotheswasher and have a couple of showers going. From what I know about the tankless, this would be marginal for the average capacity models. It's going to take one great salesman to sell me one of these.

tank less water heaters

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He said unlimited hotwater and he is my Furnace man.

:D

some good points here. water volume would be important. we are (HOPEFULLY) adding on to our little cottage, and making a 1 bathroom 1 bedroom into a 3-4bdrm 3 bathroom... so we are prepared for a substantial jump in energy consumption.

tank less water heaters

Can anyone tell me how to measure exactly what it is I need to measure when picking one?

I'll have a pretty average house I think. 3 bathroom, washer, dish washer, kitchen sink...

how do you pick? for that matter......... even if it were a tanked water heater, how do you pick the right size? we dont' have any kids yet, but plan to in the next year/2 and plan to keep them in this house for 6-10 years.